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Eastern Conference Finals: Cavaliers vs Celtics Game 3 Predictions

Submitted by John on Thu, 05/17/2018 - 14:28

Even with LeBron’s best effort, the Cavaliers are now heading home with a 2-0 deficit and their tails between their legs. Have the Cavaliers lost their will to win? Read on for the Cavaliers vs Celtics Game 3 predictions.

Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Betting on the Celtics

The C’s continue defying the odds despite dealing with a ton of difficulties.

However unlikely, Boston is on the tipping point of winning the Eastern Conference title with a 2-0 lead in their series against the Cavaliers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost Game 2 in spectacular fashion. But it’s fairer to say the Celtics took the Cavaliers to school.

A seven-point Cavaliers halftime lead went up in smoke to a seven-point deficit to start the fourth quarter, and it turned into a 14-point Celtics lead with less than three minutes to play. Ultimately, it resulted in a 107-94 defeat that put Cleveland in a 2-0 bind that few teams recover from.

The Celtics are relentless. And because of this, the Cavaliers are in trouble.

The younger, deeper and more athletic Celtics simply wore down the Cavaliers over the course of the game, there was nothing Cleveland could do to stop them.

You have to give credit to Boston, which had six players in double figures — led by 23 points from Jaylen Brown. And while Marcus Smart only shot 3 for 9, he scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out nine assists in 31 minutes while making winning plays time and time again.

The Celtics turned the tide in this game in the third quarter. Boston outscored Cleveland 36-22 in the third and gained an 84-77 lead. They simply wore down Cleveland with its youth and athleticism.

Boston’s game plan is working wonders; by letting LeBron James do whatever he wants and making life difficult for the supporting cast the Celtics have found the chink in Cleveland’s armor.

James had 15 points in Game 1 and the Cavs were blown out. He had 42 points in a triple-double in Game 2 and they were again blown out. Boston knows they can beat the Cavaliers because they lack what Boston has…a team.

The Celtics have a big edge in both youth and depth. And they’ve become Cleveland’s executioner.

Betting on the Cavaliers

The Cavs played their last ace up their sleeves. And still lost. Not only that, they seem like a beaten team. Even if the next game is in Cleveland, there are many who doubt it will make any difference.

The Celtics seemed to have broken the Cavaliers. As it stands, Boston has the better team.

Cleveland may have the best player in the world, but it really doesn’t make a difference. No matter what LeBron does, it won’t matter if the rest of the team doesn’t step up to help.

Tuesday’s loss reflects bigger problems among the Cavaliers’ ranks. Without LeBron, there is no championship team. In fact, at this point, the Cavaliers don’t even come close to how the Celtics are playing.

The Cavaliers don’t have the depth to match up to Boston. And, if the Cavs want to get back in this series, they'll need players like Smith, George Hill, Tristan Thompson, Rodney Hood and Jeff Green to start pulling their own weight in the scoring column.

That’s not happening. James has had little help if any. Even with him averaging close to triple-double numbers in both games, it’s wasn’t enough to beat a team that’s playing as Boston is.

The Celtics are playing tougher. Better. And the Cavaliers are being shoved around like a team that’s lost its will.

Maybe playing at home will make a difference. It might light a fire in this team’s belly. It may help Smith, Hill, Korver, and Green to start putting up points. Whatever it takes to get this team going. Otherwise, if they lose Game 3, it’s game over.

”We’ve got to help Bron,” JR Smith told the media after the loss. ”We can’t just expect him to do everything. As role players, we’ve got to play our role.”

Kevin Love had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, to go along with the 42 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists for James. The rest of the Cavaliers combined to go for 30 points on 12-for-33 shooting — including 3 for 14 from three.

The problem seems to be that role is no longer enough. The Celtics have dominated the James, Smith, Kevin Love, George Hill, and Kyle Korver lineup, outscoring it by 21.1 net points per 100 possessions. Even when Tristan Thompson comes in for Korver, the C’s are beating Cleveland by 9.0 net points per 100 possessions.

Now Cleveland stew for four days, with everyone wondering if its season is over. And from what we can see, it looks like it very well may be.

Cavaliers vs Celtics Betting Trends

Boston is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games

Boston is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games

The total has gone OVER in 12 of Boston's last 18 games

Cleveland is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games

Cleveland is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games

Cleveland is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games at home

Game Prediction: The Cavaliers will bounce back in Cleveland. Hopefully, they’ll make the defensive adjustments they need to stop the Celtics from killing them in the third quarter.

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